Thursday, May 5, 2011

Very emotional finish ! I spent a quiet night at Tidewater marina while Gary joined the party in Norfolk. But I am not supposed to be in Norfolk until May 1st.The next day, I had decided to leave at 11:15 in time to be at Lambert's point at noon, but I could not wait that long and as a result, we had to idle all the way to the coal pier. We then first met Orza, and then all the boats from the brotherhood that could make it, Bamboo, Cat Nap, Tardis, Blue Moon, and a little bit further away Talisman. Many cannon shots were fired, many shots of rum were fired too . . . .Aboard those boats, there were brothers not only from the Chesapeake Bay, but our national captain from San Antonio, and brothers from Texas, Florida and Georgia. Such a warm and festive welcome was a little bit overwhelming for me, since in my mind, I had just completed a round trip to Sydney, Australia. A bigger deal if you called it circumnavigation !At Rebel Marina, a slip decorated with yellow ribbons was waiting for me, together with a bigger crowd. And the party went on until late in the day. It feels so good to be back at a place that I now call home.Next day, my table Captain, brother Cruz, offered to take us on a boat ride and lunch at Lynnhaven River. At 26 knots, it did not take as long as it would have Papy Jovial and in no time, we were sitting at a wonderful restaurant, over the Lynnhaven river for drinks and lunch, (which always includes desert for me !).Tuesday was devoted to finding a set of wheels, and after an unsuccessful trip to Petersburg where I was hoping to buy a used Ford Focus Wagon, same as the one I had before my trip, I ended up buying a Jeep Patriot in Virginia Beach.So, I am now mobile and independant, and settling down will be my next job. Moving all the stuff that I left in Portsmouth down here and start the long Wishlist to get Papy Jovial ready for her next trip.I am very much aware that many people have followed my trip on this blog. I want all to know that it has remained throughout very comforting to know that I was not alone. There won't be as many entries in the few coming months, but I will keep the blog going sporadically until I am ready to make a decision regarding the next voyage.A few numbers,In a little less than two years (one year and 350 days), I covered 36,775 miles over the ground and 32,841 through the water (thanks to a generally favourable current). I used the engine 1,285 hours, many of those hours to get down from Norfolk to Jamaica and then through the Panama canal, and then, on the return trip, to sail up from the Bahamas to Norfolk.I used my electric diesel generator 251 hours, and we used altogether, including in marinas, 5,337 gallons of water, which is an overall average of 7.46 gallons per day.